Garments are often made having two components: the outer covering or the shell which is used for styling and design, and the inside liner which is used to provide some support and coverage for a woman's breasts and torso, rather than a bra. The term “bra” is used in reference to common breast support systems which generally have bra straps that extend from the front of the bra over a woman's shoulders, to the back of the bra. The front of the bra includes portions of the bra that directly surround or support the breasts (e.g., cups). The back of the bra generally refers to that region of the bra that passes across a woman's back. Garments having two layers can have a component that replaces the wearing of a bra.
A known structure in women's tops is to provide a garment having narrow straps over the shoulder with a built in second layer, usually in a cut and sew design secured under the breasts with a wide elastic band, often called a ‘shelfbra’. Similar arrangements are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,398,538 and 4,798,557. Single straps are used to provide over-the-shoulder support to both the cup portions of the bra and the garment. However, in general, this design can be disadvantageous, as it does not provide the support necessary, particularly for full figured women. In an alternate version, molded cups for the breasts are added to the shelfbra, sometimes using different fabrics to hold the cups in place.
Garments are also generally available having built in bras. Such arrangements are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,478,278 and 5,678,246. While these arrangements may provide adequate breast support, the bra and garment are generally fixed together over portions of the body of the bra (i.e., cups, sides and back region) and the strap region. The garment is generally restrictive in that it cannot move freely relative to the body of the bra.
Frames or under wires are often used in presently available products to give some shape and support. The disadvantages of under wire are numerous: it hurts the breasts, adds unnecessary weight, and unfortunately, during prolonged use, under wires have a tendency to puncture the fabric in which they are enclosed. These additional structural elements also increase manufacturing costs. Furthermore, other regions of the torso are only minimally sculpted, compressed or modified in some manner to provide an enhanced appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,840 provides for an article of clothing with built-in bra where the straps of the bra are fastened to the shoulder supports of a top garment substantially along the length of the shoulder supports from the front to the back of the garment. This article utilizes the traditional design of a bra (i.e., over the shoulder straps, back strap and two cups) fastened to the straps of an outer layer garment. The bra support is particularly suited for garments that are sleeveless or thin strapped, and can require constant adjusting for coverage of the straps of an underlying bra by the garment shoulder strap.
Various other inner liners that provide support are also known. In some garments, such as sports tops, the complete inner structure is connected to side seams of the outside shell. Again, this arrangement can be disadvantageous because the outer garment cannot move freely relative to the body of the inner structure.
Some garment tops have a seamless inner liner connected to a seamless outer layer. The outer layer is often necessarily tubular and tight fitting, as opposed to an outer layer having cut-and-sew designs which provide more options for the appearance and design of the garment top. In addition, the existing designs typically provide a double layer for coverage, and lack sufficient bust support. Frequently in garments, the inner liner presses against the chest and tends to compress and flatten the breast curvature, a result that often is not desirable.
In other garments, notably swimwear, the structure of the liner places control fabric in the back to provide the support. Such liners make the swimwear extremely bulky and uncomfortable.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,222 attempts to provide a snug form-fitting suit with front panels for supporting the breasts. The front inner liner covers the breast and is sewn within the outer garment perimeter. Such design supports the breast, but restricts the natural appearance of upper body movement.
More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,120, attempts to provide a swimsuit design comprising an inner liner which engirdles the figure and flattens out abdominal bulge, but which does not flatten the breast curvature. It comprises an inner liner garment of elastic construction and material which serves primarily to ensure figure control. The liner is generally made from elastic material such as Spandex and engirdles the torso. The stretch of the Spandex is designed to be greater in the lateral direction than in a vertical direction, allowing ease of movement, for example, when bending over. The liner is tighter and smaller than the outer garment, and is sewn to the outer garment along their common perimeters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,060 discloses a seamless body suit that is prepared from a tubular knit blank. This body suit comprises modified length stitches in order to provide support for, and yet accommodate, the breast and stomach area while provide some degree of compressive support to the mid-torso. However, this structure is not designed to provide controlling support to sculpturally shape desired regions of the torso to any substantial degree. Furthermore, there is no disclosure of different stitch types that could be beneficially used in order to sculpt a torso, nor is there any disclosure of different yarns that could be used in order to optimize the shape control function of the body suit. This body suit is made of one singular component and is not connected to any outer layer garment.